Top Five Ways to Get Ready for Fall

Brrr...Can you feel the chill outside? It's Fall now and that means winter is on it's way. Winter is not one of my favorite seasons. I would be happy if Fall could stay just a bit longer. The crimson, burnt orange, and yellow leaves are just breathtaking this time of year. This is actually my first real Fall because I have never really lived anywhere where there is an actual Fall. California has a Fall, where leaves change and fall to the ground but nothing as gorgeous as Virginia Fall. I love the idea of putting on sweaters and jeans and boots. Anyways on to tips for Fall...how to stay organized and keep a functioning household for Fall! 

Tip number one: Get rid of/put away warm weather clothes! I know this is pretty basic and self-explanatory but it's easier said than done. Start going through summer clothes and donating or trading them in for bigger sizes or putting them away in Space Bags and plastic totes for your younger children. Once Upon A Child  is an excellent resource, if you don't have one of those you can ask your local thrift store if they offer anything similar or look for clothing swaps in your area! This is when I start looking for winter clothes for my three boys and my baby girl. My three year old son usually gets a tote pulled out with hammy downs from his older brothers but sometimes this is not enough and he will still need a few items. When Old Navy was having a back to school sale, I bought each boy two-three long sleeved shirts, three pairs of jeans for my eldest boy, and I got the baby a new outfit, all for under $100. I also received Old Navy bucks to spend later, which I never got to but it's still a good amount of savings if you take advantage of it. My middle son can use some hammy downs from his older brother and he still has some stuff from the previous year that fits. So we just make it work! I also found the dollar store and Wal-Mart are good resources for mittens and gloves, especially since boys seem to lose everything. 

Tip number two: Get rid of stuff! I know this is similar to the last one but I am talking more about clutter. You know the dining room table full of school papers, mail, bills, and junk mail...? Yeah me either ;). Toys that the kids no longer play with, but pull out when you go to donate it or put it aside for your Fall Garage sale. (Yes, we are having one of those!) Go through each room in your house and throw away or donate or put aside ten items for your Garage sale. This will not only clear up clutter but it will allow you to stop cleaning up stuff that you don't have to. For instance, in my living room right now, I have a bajillion toddler and baby toys. I plan on trying to sell at least half of them in our garage sale. I have a bench with baskets in it which seems like a great idea to keep everything organized but the kids just cram whatever they can in it and half the time the toys in it don't get played with. So I will go through each basket and get rid of at least half. I have to do this when my three year old isn't home though or he will just play with everything and I won't get anything done. This is where part-time preschool comes in handy!

Tip number three: Pick one room in the house each day to deep clean! This isn't just a good tip for Fall but year-round. I just find it fitting for Fall because it can be overwhelming when it's starting to get chilly outside and you don't feel like doing anything. Make that pot of coffee and get to work. Have your spouse help you or your kids,if doable! This weekend my husband kindly took the living room apart for me and vacuumed behind/under/on the couch and under the living room rug. This was super sweet of him because he works throughout the week but I have been seeing more and more spiders and I despise spiders! I am guessing they are coming inside to hide from the cold and stay warm. Look in your house where you get the most traffic, AKA where everyone piles their junk. A high traffic area for us is our entry way,where we store our shoes and dirt gets trampled in and stuff gets crammed onto the shoe rack and the boys paper's end up out of their backpacks. My plan is to get rid of shoes not being worn and only allow each person to have one pair of shoes on the rack and get rid of the junk accumulating there. I will also sweep and mop and clean the windows on our backdoor where we come in. Do you have an area in your house that gets really messy(messier than everywhere else)?

Tip number four: Have fun with Fall! Can some salsa or Tomatoes(tomatoes are on sale but we grew some of our own) or decorate your front porch. Not everything has to be cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. We took the time to decorate the front porch for Halloween this past weekend. This is my husband's favorite Holiday and it didn't take too much effort. Sweep the porch, set up spider webs, spiders, and throw some tombstones and your good to go. It's not hard. The dollar store has a great deal of things to use. I even bought a wreath at Wal-Mart to hang up and it has sunflowers and baby pumpkin's on it. Sunflowers are my favorite. Is there something special you do to decorate for Fall or Halloween? 

Tip number five: Do maintenance on the house before Fall. This means checking your gutters for leaves and cleaning them out, checking your lightbulbs to make sure they are not only energy saving friendly but all in working order, candles and enough canned food in case of bad weather, and turning your heater on to make sure it's still in good working order. I am sure there is a lot more you can do but these are just a few things that I will be doing to make sure everything is in working order so we can have a carefree Fall and get ready for the Winter ahead! 

Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog! I am a new blog writer and I am just starting out. I am hoping to get as much experience as possible through writing about my own life/experiences. I just do what works best for myself and for my family. 

Brittany 

5 Daily Tips to Help with PPD (Post Partum Depression)

 5 Daily Tips to Help with PPD (Postpartum Depression) 

Postpartum Depression is a serious condition and isn't something to take lightly. If you think you or someone you know has it, get some help or talk to someone. You have nothing to be ashamed of either. It happens to about 15% of women postpartum.  But here are five tips that you can implement daily to help deal with it a little more easily.

1) Routine/Schedule

This one is the most important when dealing with PPD or even just depression in general. Your routine or schedule doesn't have to be anything elaborate or fancy. It doesn't mean that you have to do something in a certain amount of time either. It can be as simple as waking up, feeding the kids/yourself, chores, errands, park/craft, kids play, lunch, nap, etc. I find that having nap time and bedtime at the same time everyday for the kids really does make my life easier though. When you have someone to feed in the morning, you have no choice but to get up in the morning.

2) Getting exercise in daily! 

You don't gave to go out and get a fancy gym membership, buy a crazy expensive workout program, or work out for more than an hour everyday! I find that even a 10 minute walk gets my endorphins up and running. The fresh air is also an excellent mood booster. Just feeling the cool air on my face, warm sun on my skin, and blood rushing through my body is enough to make me feel better. I know walking with kids in tow isn't exactly ideal but it helps them get their energy out too. Even if it means putting my toddler in the stroller and the baby in the baby carrier. Yoga is also a great way to get you moving. There are a ton of free yoga videos on youtube that are very helpful. You can even just sit down and stretch your muscles out. Whatever get's your blood pumping!

3) Eating healthy foods (Remembering to Eat) 

Eating healthy can be a difficult job all on it's own, especially when you have other mouths to feed. It doesn't have to be difficult though. Just adding in vegetables to every meal will increase your energy. Eating lots of healthy fats like coconut oil, avocados, coconut butter, butter, full fat greek yogurt will help as well. Cool fact, our body burns fat for energy! If your short on time, grab something easy. A handful of nuts and blueberries is a great snack and isn't hard to prepare either. You can even prep a few meals on the weekend to help you out throughout the week. Food doesn't have to be fancy, you just need to eat the right ones for more energy. Our body craves more carbs when were tired, so load up if you need to. Toast with peanut butter or coconut butter in the morning is an excellent choice or shredded baked sweet potato with cinnamon and coconut oil.

4) Getting Enough Rest 

This may be the hardest thing to do as a Mom, especially if you have a newborn in the house. Sleeping when the baby sleeps in the first few weeks is essential to Mom's well being. Your body is still healing and if you are breastfeeding, you need it so your body can make fatty milk. Once you get a schedule going for the baby though, it gets easier. Sometimes, the dishes and laundry can wait. Sleep is very important especially if you suspect you have PPD or are depressed.

5) Taking time for yourself

That doesn't mean you have to have a whole hour to yourself (although that would be awesome). It can be as simple as drinking a cup of coffee/tea on the porch before the kids wake up. For me, this is almost impossible because my kids are always up before me. Setting an alarm to wake up 15 minutes before the kids may be worth it though. Writing in a journal or taking a bath with essential oils helps! Whatever it is that helps you relax and gets you into a better place mentally is worth it. Don't forget that you are your own person too and not just a mom. It's OK to take a few moments for yourself each day.

Note: Don't be afraid to get help. I know how hard this can be in itself. Getting counseling or getting on medication short term may be all it takes. I am not a medical professional, whatever I have posted on my blog is from my own experience and opinions.

Brittany